Nairobi — Kenya has recorded the first death from coronavirus-a 66-year-old man who arrived in the country from South Africa, via Swaziland.
The announcement was made Thursday night by Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, hours after his office announced an additional 3 positive cases raising the total number of infected people in the country to 31.
“The man who was suffering from Diabetes had arrived in the country on March 13, 2020 from South Africa via Swaziland,” he said in a statement.
He died at the Aga Khan Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit.
Three new cases confirmed on Thursday are all ladies aged between 30 and 61, according to the Health Ministry’s Chief Administrative Secretary Dr Mercy Mwangangi.
Of the three new cases, two are from Kilifi County and are said to have come into contact with a previous patient who turned positive. The other case is from Nairobi.
“All the new confirmed cases are Kenyans… the new patients have already been taken to isolation in our facilities and are being monitored by our medical personnel,” she said.
The 31 cases are said to be spread across five counties: Nairobi, Kajiado, Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale.
Dr. Mwangangi said the government is looking at ways to contain the spread in Kilifi and other emerging hotspots. She urged residents to maintain social distance as a precautionary measure.
The CAS said some 18 people are currently admitted at Kenyatta National Hospital’s Infectious Disease Unit in Nairobi’s Mbagathi Hospital awaiting testing.
The government Wednesday announced a dusk-to-dawn curfew set to begin Friday 7 pm while all international flights to the country have been stopped.
Dr Mwangangi, however, explained that nations that wish to evacuate their citizens from the country can still fly out of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport(JKIA).
The disease which has been classified as a global pandemic has killed 21,191 people across the world. 468,000 people have been infected.
